


Streets Of London

by Idzzdi



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, London, M/M, Song Lyrics, post X-Factor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-18
Updated: 2013-07-18
Packaged: 2017-12-20 14:58:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/888601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idzzdi/pseuds/Idzzdi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The boys have just finished their time on the X-Factor and are recording their first album as One Direction. There has always been something between Harry and Louis and maybe something could be a thing now.<br/>Harry thinks the idea is great, but Louis is scared and so Harry takes him to London, to change his mind.</p><p>Based on the lyrics: “Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London, I’ll show you something that’ll make you change your mind."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Streets Of London

Louis had been looking forward to this day since what felt like forever. He was back in the studio now and Liam and Niall were with him already. Zayn would arrive shortly. And Harry. Harry - the reason Louis had been looking forward to this day.

The younger boy had gone home to visit his mother and sister for the weekend and Louis had been left alone in their shared flat. It had been an odd feeling to him, being alone in the space that belonged to him  _and_  Harry for the first time since they had moved in there almost two months ago.

Louis would never admit to how excited he really felt about moving in with Harry, but the sparkle in the younger boy’s eyes let him know that Harry felt equally as stoked about his new roomie as Louis did.

They had always been close. Of course, they were  _HarryAndLouis_  the band’s dream team all through the X-Factor and even more so now that they were recording their first album all together. More often than not the two would stick their heads together and whisper and laugh about little nothings. The other boys didn’t really mind, rather watching them fondly as they fought playfully and how the fight eventually turned into a hug and they ended up cuddled together on the floor.

It was kind of a  _thing_.

Except it was not. Not in Louis’ eyes. So okay, maybe he  _wanted_  it to be a thing, but it really couldn’t be. He was too caught up discussing with himself if he was even gay or not to even wonder what effect it would have on their professional career to date one of their closest colleagues. Not to mention all the press.  _Dear God_.

So it was Monday and they were all expected at the studio to do some more recording. And Louis didn’t want to look forward to seeing Harry (at least not in the non-platonic way); but of course he did. Very much so.

And of course Liam had to notice. He shot Louis a small smile.

"I’m sure he’ll be here soon," Liam said, sounding too sly for Louis’ liking.

"Who?" he asked innocently, trying to act as if he didn’t know very well who Liam was talking about. In return all he got was loud booming laughter from Niall and an eye roll from Liam. Okay, so maybe he wasn’t as innocent as he thought.

His thoughts were interrupted however as the door was pulled open. He leaned forwards hastily, trying to fix his fringe at the same time and almost toppling over as his chair lost balance. Niall was laughing again and Louis was fighting to urge to lower his eyes in shame as he got up shakily, dusting non-existent dust off his trousers as he stood.

"What’s going on?" Zayn asked from the doorway and Niall only started laughing even harder as Louis slumped back down into his chair with a huff. Liam beckon the dark haired boy in and pulled out a chair, giggling a bit himself.

"Louis thought you were his loverboy," Liam explained with a grin and Zayn only turned around to grin at Louis as well.

"Right," Louis said, rolling his eyes at them. “Daily reminder that Harry and I are  _not_  dating."

"We should be," Harry said from the doorway and all four boys turned around to look at him.

"Harry!" Niall greeted excitedly, getting up to wrap the youngest band member in a tight hug. They were all pretty physical with each other and the fact that Harry’s comment didn’t seem to phase anybody (well okay, Louis was having a minor heart attack) said enough about their relationship already.

Harry let go of Niall and his eyes found Louis’ immediately. The grin that spread across the younger boy’s face warmed Louis heart and made him want to burst with happiness as an equally as wide smile appeared on his own lips.

"Lou," Harry said and Louis was out of his seat in no time, wrapping his arms around Harry’s middle. The younger boy seemed to grow an inch every day now and Louis feared it wasn’t going to be much longer and Harry would be towering over him. Not that it was going to be a problem exactly.

"Hazza," Louis mumbled against Harry’s neck, squeezing the boy even tighter.

"You’re gonna squeeze me to death," Harry mumbled lowly, sounding soft and amused rather than honestly concerned.

"Okay now," he continued with a laugh as Louis only squeezed him tighter in response. The embrace had now officially lasted too long to be casually. Somebody behind them coughed awkwardly and Louis pulled back, turning around to glare at Zayn for a moment, who he suspected to be the source of their interruption.

As if on cue the door was pushed open again and a small group of people rushed in. They were all dressed rather formally, clipboards in their hands and key card attached to their tailored pants, which only made them look more important.

“Okay, let’s not waste time,” the first one announced and Louis couldn’t help but roll his eyes, earning a little giggle from Harry. The man that had spoken then announced the schedule for the day, handing out papers to each of them as he continued talking. Louis wasn’t listening, but only getting slightly annoyed as he heard that they were going to be split up in order to work more efficiently. Not exactly what he had been looking for.

Fortunately they were having their vocal training in teams and as soon as that was announced Harry threw an arm around Louis’ shoulder, pulling him close.

“We’ll start with the vocals,” he chipped quickly and Louis couldn’t help but beam excitedly at the younger boy. Harry grinned back and their were too busy looking at each other to notice the annoyed look in the vocal coaches eyes.

They were ushered out the room not long after and Louis and Harry were trotting down the hallway behind the vocal coach who led the way. Their fingers were brushing occasionally and even though it made Louis’ stomach flip upside down in the most pleasant way, the grin that Harry shot him whenever their eyes met made his heart clench even worse. Louis already knew he wouldn’t learn a single thing during today’s vocal lesson.

When they reached the room their coach had led them into, he disappeared again, telling them that he would be right back, only needing to prepare something real quick. As soon as the door was shut Harry pushed his own chair closer towards Louis’, resting his head against Louis’ shoulder.

“Hey,” Louis murmured with a smile involuntarily spreading cross his face.

“Hi,” Harry mumbled back, adjusting his head a little. “I missed you,” he sad and it sounded so loaded to Louis he couldn’t say anything back. He swallowed hard, reaching out for Harry’s leg and patting his thigh comfortingly instead of struggling with what to say.

They sat like this for a while, Louis’ hand still resting against Harry’s leg and both of them listening to the other’s even breathing.

“Can we just stay in tonight?” Harry asked after a while, turning his head a tiny bit so he could peer up at Louis. “Just…order pizza or something. Watch a movie, cuddle up on the couch?”

“Yeah,” Louis agreed with a smile. “I think we could do that.”

~

The few recordings they had to do at the studio seemed to take forever and it was past 10pm when they were finally dismissed, almost crawling to their cars to get home.

“Niall and I are going for drinks,” Liam said as he searched his pockets for his keys. “Anybody wanna come?”

“I’m about to fall asleep standing up,” Zayn said and Liam only gave him a sympathetic smile before the dark haired boy crawled into his car and drove off.

“Uhm,” Louis hesitated when Liam turned to look at him. “Harry and I were gonna.. stay in. Watch a movie, you know.”

“Alright,” Liam replied with a knowing smile and Niall only muttered something along the lines of “Oh, it’s date night,” before he get in Liam’s car as well. As they drove off Louis turned to face Harry, who was standing a couple yards away by his own car.

“I’ll pick up food on the way?” Louis offered motioning towards his own car. He much rather would have ridden with Harry, but both of them had their cars here at the studio, so riding together wasn’t really an option.

“I’ll put the kettle on then,” Harry replied with a small smile.

~

When Louis pushed the door the their shared flat open, with a box of greasy pizza in his hand, he could already smell the tea. “Harry babe, I’m home,” he called, even though Harry had probably already heard him. It was all kind of awfully domestic in the way that Louis found Harry wrapped into a blanket in front of the TV, with two steaming mugs of tea on the coffee table.

Louis wanted to say something as he walked over and sat down, but Harry only smiled at him widely and it kind of took his breath away to see the younger boy all wrapped up in a blanket, his hair falling soft against the skin of his face and his eyes dropping tiredly already.

“Pizza with tuna, corn and extra cheese,” Louis finally said as he set down the box and scooted a little closer towards Harry.

“My favorite,” the boy replied and Louis only smiled, because he knew. Of course he knew. That was the only reason he would order such a pizza.

Harry was still tangled in the blanket and so Louis grabbed a piece of pizza, holding it up for the younger boy and pressing it against his lips until Harry opened his mouth willingly and bit off the corner of the slice.

“Is it good?” Louis asked before taking a bite off the same slice.

“Perfect,” Harry smiled around a half chewed bite of pizza and Louis thought the sight really shouldn’t be as endearing as it was.

The ate in silence for a while, Louis feeding Harry pizza and both of them giggling now and then when they caught each other staring or dropped pieces of corn in the mess of blankets wrapped around Harry’s body.

It was nice, Louis thought as he wiped his fingers on a napkin and then tossed it into the empty pizza box. Harry had untangled himself from the sheets and was now holding his arms wide open for Louis to crawl into. The older boy shot him a wide grin, shuffling forwards to rest his head against Harry chest and let the curly haired boy wrap them both up in a tangle of blankets again.

They watched TV for a while, Harry making quiet stupid comments and Louis giggling against his chest helplessly. He would try to hide his face in the soft material of Harry’s shirt and whenever he did Harry would only pull him closer, his hands resting comfortingly against Louis’ back.

“I’m really tired,” Louis muttered after a while when his eyelids wouldn’t stop dropping every other second. And Harry’s chest was so firm but comfortable to lay on and his arms were so warm around him that Louis found it harder and harder to stay awake.

“Me too,” Harry muttered against Louis’ hair, letting his fingers slip a little lower on Louis’ back. They were silent again for a while and Louis wondered if Harry had fallen asleep maybe, when the boy beneath him shifted the tiniest bit.

“Sleep with me tonight?” Harry mumbled and Louis’ heart skipped a beat, but he nodded quickly, letting Harry pull him up into a sitting position from where both of the got up slowly. Louis stumbled after Harry, letting the younger boy drag him towards his bedroom. Harry didn’t even bother switching the lights on and let himself flop onto the bed, wiggling around a bit to get his trousers off.

Louis laughed and pulled his own jeans off, climbing in from the other side of the bed, sliding under the blankets quickly. He was still giggling at Harry’s antics when the younger boy had finally managed to get his jeans off and slit under the covers as well, shuffling closer towards Louis.

They had shared a bed many times before, so it wasn’t anything new or special really, but it still made Louis’ heart pound like crazy when Harry’s hands curled into the front of his shirt, pulling them closer together.

Their heads lay close together and Louis could feel Harry’s warm breathing against his cheek. And even though he was cuddled into bed cozily now and he had had a hell of day, he couldn’t even dream about sleep right now. His heart was beating too fast and with Harry so close everything got a little too hot to be comfortable. It was a little bit like suffocating, Louis thought.

But in a good way.

Harry shuffled even closer, pressing his cold toes against Louis’ calves.

“I missed you,” the younger boy mumbled for the second time that day and Louis thought his heart with going to explode with how fond he was of this boy.

“I really missed you, too,” he whispered back, draping his arm over Harry’s waist casually. Even through the dark Louis could tell Harry was smiling, or maybe he just knew. He knew, because it was the same smile he himself had had on his face when Harry had told him that he had missed him.

They were quiet again for a while and Louis wondered if maybe Harry had finally fallen asleep. But the younger boy kept shifting next to him, his fingers digging deeper and deeper into Louis’ shirt. Louis reveled in the feeling of being pulled closer and closer, even if his shirt was going to be ruined in the morning.

“Lou?” Harry whispered after a while and Louis opened his eyes, even though he still couldn’t see through the dark. “You awake?”

“Hm,” he hummed in response, squeezing Harry’s side with his hand lightly.

“I..” the younger boy started but then trailing off and Louis could almost  _hear_  him think. There was silence again and Louis waited patiently as he felt Harry pull back for a moment and then coming closer again. “Oh, fuck it,” he muttered and Louis wanted to ask what he meant, wanted to ask what he was talking about, but only a moment later Harry was  _kissing_  him and that kind of wasn’t part of the plan.

Louis hesitated for a moment, trying to wrap his head around what the hell was going on, but Harry was  _kissing_  him, so maybe the why and the what and all that wasn’t so important right now.

It took him a second to get his actions straight, but then he was tightening his grip around Harry’s middle and pulling him closer, tilting his head to the side to get a better angle and fit their mouths together perfectly. It was warm and slow and incredibly soft as Harry’s lips moved against his own.

When they pulled back Louis instinctively opened his eyes to look at Harry, to look at his eyes and see his reaction, but it was still too dark to see anything. He couldn’t help but smile though at the warm feeling still lingering on his lips and the wet, sweet taste in his mouth.

Louis couldn’t help the incredibly good feeling bubbling up in his chest and squeezed Harry’s side again, biting down onto his own bottom lip to suppress the giggle that threatened to escape his mouth.

“I really hope,” Harry said a little breathlessly right next to Louis’ face “that you’re smiling just as wide as I am right now.”

~

The next morning Louis woke with a sore neck. He blinked his eyes open lazily and found his cheek resting against Harry’s chest, his fingers curled against the naked skin of the younger boy’s chest. Letting out a soft breath Louis closed his eyes again, enjoying the feeling of Harry’s warm body underneath him for a moment longer before shifting his head the tiniest bit, trying not to disrupt Harry from his slumber. The curly haired boy only grunted softly in his sleep as Louis pushed himself up and chuckled quietly at the soft frown appearing on Harry’s forehead.

Louis watched him sleep for a full minute, feeling struck by how young and yet utterly beautiful Harry looked like this. It’s creepy almost, Louis thought, as he let his gaze travel down towards Harry’s chest. He didn’t get there however, caught up by the dark blooming mark on Harry’s neck. It’s right above the collar bone where Louis had always suspected Harry’s skin to be extra soft, and it looked fresh and kind of the shape of Louis’ mouth and-  _oh yeah_.

There was this  _something_  last night. Louis remembered.

The rush of feelings that flooded him next was hard to describe and impossible to pinpoint and Louis’ head felt heavy all of the sudden, like he was going to need a moment to think about this.

Or maybe a week.

Harry underneath him stirred in his sleep and Louis held his breath, not daring to move. Harry waking up  _now_  wouldn’t be right out a reason to panic. Except it would. Very much so. And so he scrambled back a bit, pulling the blanket with him.

Harry opened his eyes.

For a long second the room was completely silent, Louis watching Harry in somewhat horror while Harry blinked up at him confusion.

“Morning,” the younger boy mumbled after a while, a grin appearing on his face. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Louis wanted to say and scramble forwards to cuddle up against Harry. That was what felt natural. But Louis couldn’t, not after what had happened the night before. It wasn’t  _them_  and it had changed them. Louis wasn’t sure he liked it.

So instead of saying anything he only held his position, gazing at Harry carefully as the younger boy looked back curiously, tugging on the blanket Louis had pulled with him tentatively.

“You gonna come here, or what?” Harry asked after a while then, reaching out for Louis’ wrist and tugging him closer. Louis let him, mesmerized by the bright sparkle in Harry’s eyes, focused on the smile that spread across the younger boy’s face as Louis shuffled closer.

In the end Louis rested his face on the pillow next to Harry’s, gazing down at his hands rather than up at Harry. He knew the way Harry’s big eyes would look at him, questioning and unsure, and Louis also knew that he couldn’t stand it right now. His own head was buzzing with all the worries he had allowed himself to forget about last night, making it hard to concentrate on anything else.

“Hey,” Harry mumbled softly, scooting down the bed and lifting Louis’ chin lightly until their gazes met. “Everything alright?”

“Peachy,” Louis croaked back, his voice deep and strange from sleep, but Louis thought it covered up the way his voice nearly broke lying to Harry.

“Not it’s not,” Harry said softly, letting his hand drop from Louis’ face and rest on his waist instead. So there was the down point of having a super close best friend/soul mate: There were no such things as  _secrets_. Harry knew everything.  _Always_.

But he couldn’t know now, he just couldn’t. Louis needed time to figure this out himself, figure out what it meant to stay up minutes (okay, so maybe  _hours_ ) to snog your best friend.

“We need to get up,” Louis said quietly, swallowing around the lump in his throat. Pushing away from Harry he prayed,  _prayed_ , the the younger boy didn’t realize that they weren’t due at the studio for at least a few more hours. Maybe if he could just get into his own room. Into the shower maybe. To think..

“Wait,” Harry said, reaching out for Louis’ hand and pulling him back down before he had even gotten off the bed. Reluctantly he turned around to face Harry, who was grinning up at him, still holding onto his wrist. They just stayed still for a moment, before Harry tugged on Louis’ wrist again, pulling him down until their lips met.

The kiss was slow and lazy, and didn’t last long before Louis’ pulled back, looking over his shoulder to make sure there was nobody watching them from the door they had left ajar the night before.

“Lou?” Harry mumbled in confusion, squeezing his wrist lightly until Louis turned around. A sad smile appeared on his face as he gently retrieved his hand from Harry’s grip.

“Louis?” Harry asked again, his brow furrowing slightly now. Louis couldn’t really tell if Harry was annoyed or just worried as he stepped further away from the bed.

“I- I..” Louis began, lacing his fingers together awkwardly as he stumbled towards the door. “I’m sorry.”

“What?” Harry asked, his face now clearly showing his confusion as Louis slipped out of the room, trying not to literally make a _run_  for his room as he escaped down the hallway.

“Louis, what the hell is going on?” he heard Harry ask not too far behind him as he slipped through the door into his own room, shutting it behind himself.

“Are you okay? Are you.. not feeling well?” Harry kept asking and Louis stood in the middle of his room, biting his lip in horror. He regretted the day they were offered to have keys for the locks in their doors made and they had declined, saying that they didn’t have any secrets. Yeah well, they sure didn’t  _now_.

There was a soft knock on the door a moment later and Louis still couldn’t move, still only stood frozen in the middle of the room.

“Is- Is there anything I can do?” Harry asked tentatively and Louis knew that Harry probably had his hand on the door handle, not daring to come in. Louis was being weird and Harry was still respecting his privacy. Harry was just a good person. And Louis couldn’t handle  _good person_  right now, so “No!” he wanted to scream, but well he wasn’t that  _bad_  of a person.

“I’ll just..” Harry muttered lowly, sounding awfully defeated. “I’ll go. If you need to talk..” he trailed off, but Louis knew what he meant. Such a  _good_  person.

For a moment Louis stood in silence, trying to listen for any sounds outside the door. Harry wasn’t talking anymore, but Louis couldn’t hear him shuffle down the hallway or messing in the kitchen either. If he was still in front of the door-

“If-” Harry’s voice suddenly said from right outside the door. “If this is about last night, I-” He paused. “Is this about last night, Lou? Because if it is I’ll- Louis?” Another pause.

“I’m coming in,” he said in the end. He sounded tentatively and hesitated a long moment before actually pushing the door open painfully slowly and Louis knew he would have had the chance to say no if he had wanted to. Or if he could have. Because somehow his mouth felt heavy now, like his head, and it seemed like an impossible task to stop Harry.

The door swung open slowly and Harry’s messy head of curls came into view, his eyes cast down at the ground. Louis was only staring at him still feeling unable to move or speak or even think straight. Everything was such a mess between what he wanted and what was possible. Between what he wanted to be true, to keep in his heart forever and what would never be allowed to make him happy.

A minute passed in which boys stays silent, awaiting the other’s reaction. In the end Harry was the first to speak.

“I thought.. I  _think_  that last night was.. nice. But if you don’t think so, obviously, we can just, erm, go back to.. to normal. I won’t..” he said, swinging his hands awkwardly, his eyes still fixed on the ground rather than looking at Louis.

The older boy was still feeling mostly confused by himself, but as Harry implied that kissing him hadn’t meant anything to Louis all his warning bells were ringing. No matter how messed up things in his head were, kissing Harry, for a fact, had been the single most amazing thing since, since.. Louis didn’t even know.

“No, I-” he began, moving his hands awkwardly like Harry had before and he stepped forwards, feeling as though he couldn’t control his feet as they carried him closer towards Harry. “Yesterday was.. I, erm, I think it was.. nice too?” Louis flinched a little hearing out loud how awkward he sounded when he spoke.

Awkwardness just wasn’t  _HarryAndLouis_.

“Okay?” the younger boy replied tentatively, raising a questioning eyebrow at Louis. “If it isn’t that then.. why are you like.. like  _this_?” He was looking up now for the first time meeting Louis’ eyes. As soon as their hazes met however he was lowering his eyes again, nibbling on his bottom lip nervously.

Louis was looking back at him thinking about Harry’s question and how the  _fuck_  to answer it without sounding utterly stupid.

“I don’t- I don’t know how to..” he trailed of, making movements with his hands to let Harry know what he was trying to say.

“Come on,” Harry replied, stepping closer now himself. They were at a comfortable distance now, not as close as they usually were, but friendly enough to talk. “It’s  _me_ , Lou. Just tell me..”

Louis let out a breath thinking that, yeah, it was just Harry. Harry, who knew basically everything about him already anyways. Harry, who would understand him because, well, he kind of had the same problem.

“Well-” Louis started, still reluctant to talk about it but Harry was leaning closer now and if Louis were to reach out he could touch his cheek or run his hand through the mess of curls on his head. “It’s just that..- It’s not about you. Like, it is. But not about  _you_.”

“You’re not making any sense, love.”

And oh well, did Harry really have to start the nicknames  _now_?

“I, erm. Okay, I like you.” Harry’s face noticeably lit up at that and it broke Louis’ heart that he couldn’t just leave it at that. “But.. You and I. It’s just never gonna work. Think about the other boys and the, the fans. Our families.  _Management_.”

Harry shook his head. “The boys wouldn’t mind. The fans want us to be together  _anyway_. My mom probably loves you more than me by now. And management, well.. Screw them.” He gave an almost sad half shrug and a crooked smile and Louis could almost feel his spirits rise, almost.

“That’s not how it works though.”

“Well, then I’ll make it work.”

“Hazza-”

“No,” Harry was stepping closer. “What’s the point in being famous when I can’t even lov-  _be_  with who I want?”

Louis bit his lip. “Well.. shouldn’t have chosen your band mate,” he commented sadly, but Harry only glared at him.

“Shouldn’t have chosen a  _boy_ , you mean. Stupid fucking management!” he spat, pushing past Louis angrily. Louis stood and watched him pace for a moment, thinking about something soothing to say.

“But Harry.. You get to, to live your dream and sing and we’re recording an album and all that.”

“Amazing,” Harry said sarcastically rolling his eyes.

“There are just some rules that-”

“Some rules?” Harry laughed darkly. “Who the fuck made the rule that I can’t date you?”

And well, Louis was caught somewhere between slightly shocked because Harry was positively yelling now and slightly shocked because they had never exactly spelled it out like that before.

“I don’t- I don’t think the rule goes quite like that,” Louis muttered, fiddling with his hands nervously as he kept his eyes on Harry, who was still pacing. At Louis’ words however Harry stopped midwalk, turning around to face the older boy again.

“Yeah!” Harry yelled almost happily, taking two quick steps towards Louis. “Yes, that’s it. That’s it!”

“What’s what?” Louis asked, his brows furrowed in confusion as Harry grabbed his hands and squeezed them excitedly.

“We  _can_  date. We’re just not gonna tell them. It’s gonna be you and me.  _Just_  you and me,” Harry explained excitedly before letting go of Louis’ hands to cup his cheeks instead and bring their mouth together again. Louis kissed back, though gently trying to push Harry back without giving him the feeling of rejection.

“What?” Harry asked, his cheeks slightly pink from kissing.

“It’s not.. That’s not gonna work, Harry. I mean, I..” Harry’s face had already fallen, his hands drawing back from Louis’ face. “I  _want_  to be with you, I really do, but.. we couldn’t ever.. go out or on normal dates. We couldn’t hold hands or kiss in public. That’s not.. not what you want, Haz.”

“Yes, yes it is,” Harry disagreed quickly. “ _You_  are what I want and I don’t care what I have to do to get it.”

“But Harry-” Louis tried again, ignoring the way Harry was already shaking his head in protest.

“A relationship where I can’t even  _do_  anything with you.. I- I wouldn’t want that,” he admitted quietly in the end, fearing Harry’s reaction.

“I- No.” Harry shook his head, more forcefully than before. “No. We- we can do this. It’s not  _that_  big of a deal. I’ll- I’ll wear a hat and you’ll wear some sunglasses and we’ll go out. It’ll be fine. It’ll be fine,” Harry ensured and Louis wanted to believe him. He really did, but that just wasn’t how things went.

“Harry, please listen to me. I-”

“No,” Harry interrupted again. “I  _know_  this will work. You and me. We’re..  _good_. I’ll show that it works. We’ll go to London. Today. Please, let me take you out.”

Louis planned very hard on saying no. He knew having to keep their relationship down all the time unless it was just the two of them was only going to make them miserable or do something stupid. Something they’d regret, that would ruin the band. But Harry was looking at him with his puppy eyes and he was reaching out to squeeze Louis’ hip, his long fingers curling around Louis’ middle comfortingly. It wasn’t fair and Louis thought he should have been more prepared for this, to be asked favors by Harry, not only as his best friend but as his possible lover.

“Fine,” Louis agreed after a long pause in which both of them already knew he was going to ave in the end anyways. “We’re going to London.”

~

Louis went to get a shower and put fresh clothes on, trying not to freak out in the meantime. When he emerged from his room, slowly shuffling down the hallway he could Harry speak on the phone with somebody in the kitchen. Louis didn’t  _mean_  to listen, but well. It didn’t turn out to be all that interesting anyways, Harry was only speaking to Zayn letting him know that Louis and himself were feeling poorly and not coming in today. Louis couldn’t hear Zayn speaking, but from Harry’s flustered reaction Louis guessed that Zayn didn’t quite buy the story. The suspicion was confirmed when two minutes after Harry had hung up on Zayn Louis received a ‘ _yiihaw, get some!_ ’ text.

Louis chose not to text back and stowed his phone away in his pocket upon entering the kitchen where he found Harry leaning against the counter, gazing down at his phone.

“Oh hey,” Harry muttered distractedly after shooting a quick look at Louis. “I called a cab. And told the boys we weren’t coming today.”

“Right,” Louis agreed awkwardly. The whole situation was plain absurd. It felt so unlike them, so unlike  _HarryAndLouis_  that it almost physically hurt Louis to see the younger boy glance at him sheepishly from the side, both staying quiet as they pulled on shoes and jackets, heading downstairs to catch their cab.

The drive to the center of London was short even though the traffic was heavy. Louis kept his gaze fixed away from Harry, staring out of the window on his side of the car. His thoughts wandered off as he tried to figure out how they gone from best friends yesterday afternoon to lover last night and almost strangers right now. It had felt so right last night, but now.. now that they weren’t alone and there was no comforting dark surrounding them, hiding away everything they did. Now it felt scandalous.

When the cab came to a stop Harry handed some money over to the driver and then ushered Louis out of the car. Louis let Harry push him a bit and then drag along as they walked down the sidewalk. Harry seemed to have a pretty clear goal and Louis only dragged along, trying to hide behind the sunglasses Harry had given to him in the cab. They were large and covering quite a bit of his face and together with the beanie he had pushed all his hair underneath Louis thought he actually didn’t look a lot like himself as he studied his appearance in the windows or shops they passed.

Harry however didn’t seem concerned about hiding his identity at all. Sure, he was wearing a beanie as well, but his curls were poking out at all sides, making him look even younger then usual. Normally Louis loved that look on Harry, the soft and innocent Harry, but right now he’d much rather have the boy hide his hair and actually put  _on_  the sunglasses he was only holding in his hand.

They were walking for a while and Louis was gazing down at the ground constantly, only looking up occasionally to see where Harry was walking. After they had passed yet another crossing street Harry suddenly came to a halt and Louis almost ran into him with his eyes still lowered to the ground. Harry chuckled quietly, but Louis only frowned as he looked around, making sure nobody was staring.

“Come on, Lou,” Harry pleaded and Louis looked up to see what the younger boy wanted. “Just..” Harry began, but Louis only shrugged at him in confusion. “Just be normal, please. Like.. I wanted to go to London so we could spend some time together and  _be_  together, but you- It just isn’t any fun when all you ever do is follow me like a sad puppy.”

“But Harry-” Louis said quietly, making sure none of the people passing by would catch Harry’s name. “People are gonna-”

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” Harry hissed, interrupting Louis. “Don’t be so  _full_  of yourself. Not everybody is going to recognize you. We were on the X-Factor, fine, but we  _didn’t even win_. We’ve been walking around for like twenty minutes now and nobody said anything.”

They were looking at each other, Harry annoyed and energetic, Louis shot down and unsure.

“Fine,” Harry huffed after a while and Louis didn’t really know what was  _fine_  all the sudden, so he only watched as Harry shoved his sunglasses angrily up on his nose and then took two steps to the side, poking a girl that looked to be a few years older then them on the shoulder. She turned, gazing at Harry in surprise.

“Hey, sorry,” Harry said with his most charming smile. “Are you from around here? Could you maybe point us the way the London Eye?”

“Oh.” The girl smiled. “Of course, dear. Do you have a map?”

Harry shook his head apologetically and then listened as the girl tried to describe the route they had to take. Louis only stood there, a few feet away, half relieved that the girl did not recognize them and half angry Harry for even putting it on the line.

When the girl finished her explanation Harry thanked her a dozen times and then waved her goodbye, walking over to Louis and grabbing his hand to lead him in the direction the girl had pointed them.

“Stop that,” Louis muttered, pulling his hand away from Harry’s.

“Oh, come  _on_ ,” Harry sighed, his amusement still showing through the annoyance. “I spoke to her for a full minute  _at least_  and she didn’t recognize me.”

“You just got lucky.”

“Louis,” Harry whined and Louis flinched.

“Shh,” Louis muttered back. “Not my name.”

“Louis William Tomlinson!” the younger boy exclaimed raising his voice a good bit and Louis froze in his tracks. The street they had been walking on wasn’t exactly packed, but there were quite a few people around. None of them even cared to glance at them.

“Looks like you’re not all that famous after all,” Harry teased and Louis’ jaw was still clenched shut. “Now, it’s been over thirty minutes, we talked to people and we’re wearing a  _disguise_  for god’s sake. Will you please let me hold your hand?”

“No,” Louis huffed. Harry only laughed in response, grabbing Louis hands and tangling their fingers together. Louis didn’t pull away.

“Well, alright then,” Harry smiled, tugging on Louis’ hand a bit to get him to walk again. “I don’t know if you had noticed, but this is going to be a proper date. So.. what do you wanna do?”

“Urm,” Louis felt lightheaded. A _proper date_ , well. He hadn’t known. He would have dressed better if he had.

“What do you reckon, milkshakes would be fine? We could get one with two straws,” Harry offered, wiggling his eyebrows inappropriately and Louis couldn’t help but giggle a little at the silly face Harry was making.

“Yeah, okay.”

“Milkshakes it is, yay,” Harry cheered sarcastically and Louis rolled his eyes at him, but let Harry pull him closer by the hand and so they walked, their fingers still linked together and their shoulders pressed against one another as Harry led their way down the road towards a milkshake shop.

The shop was packed when they got there and Louis nervously dropped Harry’s hand upon entering. The younger boy didn’t say anything, but pulled his glasses off and Louis couldn’t help but think that it was his little revenge, to proof his point.

As they stood in line Harry asked what kind of milkshake Louis wanted. With a small smile the older boy asked if the offer with the one milkshake and two straws still stood, lighting Harry’s face up like a light bulb. It was endearing to see. Louis told himself that the only reason he did this was to sooth Harry into for god’s sake  _not_  take his beanie off as well (those curls were trademark). But really who was he kidding?

In the end Harry ordered them a large chocolate and vanilla swirl milkshake and Louis couldn’t help but beam a little, when Harry asked for two straws. Okay so maybe the day taken a quite pleasant turn.

Harry gave him a grin and then paid, taking their drink with him as they went to find a table somewhere in the back of the shop. Most tables were taken already, but they managed to fight their way through to one by the back wall, providing not nearly as much privacy as Louis would have liked. After all this was a  _date_  now, so..

Harry took the seat opposite of him, placing the drink on the small table in between them. He slowly and deliberately took the first straw and unwrapped it, sticking into the drink, his eyes never leaving Louis’. Louis was staring back, holding the eye contact as Harry blindly reached for the second straw, repeating the action even slower than before. Unwrapping straws really shouldn’t look as endearing, Louis thought as Harry collected the paper wrappers from the table and crumbled them together.

“So?” Harry prompted after a while, smirking knowingly as Louis blinked back into reality. Okay, so maybe he drifted off a tiny bit thinking about Harry’s lips. Who could blame him?

“Wha?” Louis asked, shaking his head a little bit in order to get his thoughts straight.

“Did I finally get manage to get you to think of something other than you own so  _popular_  personality?” he mocked and Louis pouted back at him, trying to glare. Harry was grinning at him, leaning forwards then to wrap his lips around one of the straws and suck on it in a way that definitely not just to get some milkshake.

“Harry,” Louis mumbled, a faint blush creeping up on his cheeks.

“Yes, dear?” he asked, smiling sweetly.

“Stop it.”

“Oh, I’m not sure you want me to.” And Harry leaned forwards again, sucking on the straw again, humming in appreciation. “Tastes good,” he purred, licking his lips obscenely.

“For fuck’s sake,” Louis cussed under his breath, forcing himself to look away from Harry’s lips when he felt his trouser growing tighter and tighter. The grin that appeared on Harry’s face in return was incredibly wide and sly. He reached out to pat Louis’ hand almost apologetically with a little laugh.

“You should really try it. It’s good.”

Louis watched him expectantly for a moment, squinting his eyes together suspiciously before leaning forwards a bit himself. He reached for the other straw and sucked on it until he could taste the cold milkshake on his tongue. Harry had been right, it was good, but what was even better was the way Harry was gazing at him expectantly and his eyes a tiny bit distant, as if his thoughts were drifting off to a place similar to the one Louis’ had been before.  _Interesting_.

Louis still had the straw in his mouth when Harry suddenly leaned forwards, taking his own straw into his mouth, leaving their face only inches apart.

“Right,” Louis laughed quietly, pulling back from the table a bit. “Wasn’t that romantic?”

“I know, right?” Harry agreed eagerly, making Louis laugh. “You should tell me that my eyes are as green as the grass you want to lay me down on to kiss me until the sun sets and the stars rise to shine bright above our love.”

Harry’s eyes were twinkling mischievously and Louis couldn’t help but giggle quietly, shaking his head lightly at Harry’s words.

“You already know though, apparently.”

“I still like to hear it.”

Louis was giggling again and Harry used that moment to reach across the table and pull the sunglasses off Louis’ face. It surprised Louis himself how easy it was to ignore the urge to look around, to check if people had recognized them yet. At least it was easy with Harry staring at you intensely, a smile tugging on his lips, as he waited for Louis to speak.

“Fine, urm. Your eyes are as green as grass and I want to lay you down and kiss you and then there’s stars and I think I forgot the rest but you get the ide-” Louis started, sounding hopelessly unromantic, but it didn’t really matter, because halfway through the sentence he was interrupted by Harry’s lips pressing against his own softly.

The kiss was short and sweet and hesitant almost Louis thought as Harry pulled back slowly. The look in his eyes was careful and tentative, as if he was fearing Louis’ reaction. But Louis’ couldn’t help himself at all. Even if he had wanted to be angry or worried about them being –  _kissing_  – in public he honestly couldn’t bring himself to care right now. And the wide smile forcing his way onto Louis’ face gave him away and Harry only chuckled happily, leaning closer again to bring their lips together for a real kiss this time.

It was still sweet like the previous one, but longer and deeper and Louis felt Harry’s hands tentatively reaching up to cup his jaw as they kept kissing.

When they pulled back they were both smiling again. Smiling foolishly until one of them started cackling and then they were laughing and chatting over their shared milkshake until it was time to go back.

~

When they arrived at the studio the next day they were greeted by their three band mates with expecting looks.

“So?” Niall prompted after a long moment of silence when nobody had said anything.

“Feeling better,” Harry mumbled, trying to pass the topic as quickly as possible, knowing Louis probably would rather have it that way. Unfortunately their three friends weren’t going to give up quite that easily.

“Right,” Zayn laughed. “So.. is it just shagging or is it, like, a real deal?”

“Zayn,” Liam scold him for his language but Zayn only shrugged.

“We didn’t shag,” Harry said right away, trying to delicately glance at Louis next to him. The oldest boy was smiling.

“It’s a real deal,” he said with a sigh, though the smile still lingering on his lips gave away that he wasn’t nearly as annoyed as he liked to pretend. “Harry and me. Any more questions? No? Good. Now shut up,” he rushed the words out of his mouth, not giving any of the boys a chance to say something, only making them laugh in return.

“Well, it’s not really surprising, is it?” Liam said softly as he got up from the sofa they had been sitting on and walked across the room to get a drink. General chatter picked up and Harry was thankful that the boys didn’t make a big deal about it. Most of all though he was grateful that Louis didn’t make a big deal about it.

“Thanks, babe,” Harry muttered, pressing a kiss against Louis’ temple softly. And the smile on Louis’ face let him know that he knew what for.

**Author's Note:**

> What's your thoooooughts? xx


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